Brightly Shone The Light
by Nalanzu
Summary: Konohagakure no Sato faces crisis - without its shinobi. Is it possible for the few ninjas left to deal with the threat? Note: Will contain shounen ai in later chapters. Incomplete.
1. Prologue

Author Notes:  Beware of falling spoilers.  This exists in the nebulous time following volume 21 of the manga, and assumes that both Orochimaru and Akatsuki have been neutralized.  It also assumes that Sasuke has returned to Konoha.  Various spoilers will probably occur for most of the manga throughout this fic.

I will try to update this fic on a weekly basis, but as I don't have anything written for it beyond what you see here, this might not happen.  The earlier chapters may also be replaced and edited as the story continues.

Author's Notes, Secondary:  This chapter has been re-edited and re-uploaded, and a few things taken care of.  Please enjoy it.  ^.^

* * *

Brightly Shone the Light: Prologue 

(beta version)

* * *

The small room was brightly lit, like most of the other spaces within the hidden village.  Regardless of the time outside – to which few of those inside were ever exposed  – inside always saw an overabundance of light.

In this particular room, dozens of displays glowed, each held suspended between slender twin spires.   Some seemed to be graphs, others colored points of light.  One showed the changing conditions of several regions.  Still others appeared to be character profiles of long-dead shinobi, although none that would have been recognized by the vast majority of the residents of the five Hidden Villages.

Outside the room, a group of people stood.  They had uniformly pale skin, as if sunlight had never touched it, despite the plethora of artificial light in their current environment.  There were no other physiological characteristics uniting this particular group of people, but at a glance even the uninformed could have identified them as shinobi.

It was apparent not only from the way they moved and the way each was continually observant of the group's surroundings, but also because each of them wore an unmistakable badge – the forehead protector granted upon graduation from a shinobi academy.  

The insignia on the badge was not one that had been seen in decades; it had indeed been nearly stricken from the memories of both shinobi and civilian folk.  Carved deeply into each metal plaque was the stylized shape of a rising sun.

"Are they ready?" The voice held an unmistakable edge of barely-suppressed impatience.

"Not yet.  The training is nearly complete, but it will take time."  The reply was intended to be placating, but it was unyielding.

"Time.  We have already waited –" Impatience threatened to override the objections, no matter the consequences.

"Then waiting a few days, a week, will make no difference."  Soothing, yet implacable; the speaker did not intend to let years of planning fail to come to fruition for lack of patience.

"If that is so, then it is so.  We will wait."  Resignation now threaded the voice, reining it back.  This speaker, too, knew of the importance of preparation.  Was it not one of the hallmarks of the ninja way?

The group dispersed silently, without even the whisper of a footfall to mark their passing.  Inside the room, the lights continued to blink almost peacefully as their caretakers prepared for war.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto tied the forehead protector tightly and tried to smile at his reflection.  It looked more like a grimace than an expression of happiness.  With a sigh, he dropped the attempt and trudged into the living room to wait for Iruka-sensei.  He'd been promised ramen at the Ichiraku stand that evening, and he hadn't seen Iruka in the past few weeks.  Naruto lowered himself to sit cross-legged on the floor and leaned against the wall, rationalizing that he'd only sit down for a few minutes.  Just until Iruka-sensei arrived.  

He'd been feeling strange all day, as if his mind and body weren't completely connected, and furthermore that his thoughts were wrapped in gauze and not quite clear.  He'd tried to overcome the feeling by training, but that had only seemed to make him feel worse.  He'd stuck with it, though, since he had the promise of ramen with Iruka-sensei that evening.  Readjusting the forehead protector, Naruto closed his eyes, intending to just relax for a few seconds.

Iruka knocked on Naruto's door a few minutes later.  The thought that Kakashi's perpetual failure to be anywhere on time was probably catching skittered across the surface of his mind, trailing an amused chuckle.  The chuckle faded as he realized that Naruto hadn't answered his door.  Iruka frowned and knocked again.  Still no answer.

The door proved to be unlocked when he attempted to turn the knob.  Concerned now, Iruka pushed it open and stepped inside silently, ready for either one of Naruto's notorious pranks or a real attack, whichever came first.

Instead, he saw Naruto leaning against the wall, sound asleep.  He smiled slightly to himself; Naruto had been working hard lately if he was tired enough to fall asleep before getting free ramen.  He crossed the room, walking normally instead of silently.  The least he could do was to make sure Naruto slept in a proper bed.  Ramen could wait.

Naruto didn't stir at all as Iruka approached him, which wasn't like him at all.  Iruka shook his shoulder gently.  Poor kid looked utterly exhausted.  "Naruto?  C'mon, wake up."  

"Iruka-sensei?"  Naruto jumped to his feet, wobbling slightly before steadying himself against the wall.  "I'm sorry!  We can go now, if it's okay with you…"

He looked worse awake than he had asleep.  Iruka shook his head.  "You go ahead and get some sleep, Naruto.  We'll do this another time."

"I'm fine!"  Naruto nodded enthusiastically.  "See?  Come on, Iruka-sensei." He pushed himself away from the wall.  "I…"  Without warning, his knees buckled and Iruka barely managed to catch him as he collapsed.

"Naruto?"  The boy was running a high temperature if he could feel it through his clothes, and he could.  "Hang on, Naruto, you're gonna be fine."  Over rather subdued protests, Iruka carried Naruto into Konoha's hospital.

A few hours later, Iruka had signed various forms and papers and learned that Naruto had come down with one of the last cases of a flu that had made its rounds of Konoha over the previous weeks.  While there would be no lasting problems, the doctor opined that Naruto would be in the hospital for some days.  

Iruka was allowed to check in on Naruto for only a few minutes before visiting hours ended.  Naruto was thoroughly asleep, so Iruka just squeezed his hand gently before leaving to track down Naruto's teammates and give them the news.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke squinted up at the bright sun overhead.  By his calculations, it was still late morning.  He hadn't been training for nearly long enough, but for some reason he was having trouble concentrating.  He gathered up his scattered kunai, irritated that they were so widely spread.  He took careful aim at the target, only to curse as the kunai once again overshot the mark.

"This is getting me nowhere," he muttered.

Retrieving his kunai from the undergrowth, Sasuke stowed it away with a resigned sigh, and made his way farther up the side of the mountain.  It was, after all, possible that a short swim would help him regain his focus.

The small pool at which he eventually arrived was some distance away from Konoha and difficult to reach; most people wouldn't have bothered to make the rather arduous trip.  It was therefore perfect for Sasuke; he had his peace and privacy.  With a sigh of relief, he stripped down to his underclothes, carefully folding his Leaf forehead protector and laying it on top of the rest of his possessions.  The cool water seemed almost to wash away his restlessness as he dove into the pool.

Sasuke settled to the bottom of the water, focusing on holding his breath for as long as he could in a classic meditation pose.  His mind stilled and cleared, the uncharacteristic chaos of earlier settling into a pattern.  A frown crossed his face as he followed several trains of thought to a conclusion.  His mind was playing tricks on him; he couldn't possibly be distracted because he was worried about Naruto.

The thought was unsettling enough that he reflexively exhaled, sending a stream of silver bubbles rising to the surface of the water.  Annoyed all over again, he surfaced, flicking wet hair out of his eyes, and climbed out of the pool.  Swimming was giving him no peace either.

"Sasuke-kuuuuuuuuuun!"

Sasuke staggered as Sakura latched onto him, smiling brightly as if she thought he'd be happy to see her here.  _This isn't fair!  This is my place!_  Instead of voicing his thoughts, however, he simply looked at her and said in a flat voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I like it here!  It's so, um, peaceful."  Sakura looked around and shook damp hair out of her eyes.  At his dubious expression, she let go of him.  "Well, I do.  I didn't expect to see you here."

She was wearing nothing more than a swimsuit and towel, but he could see a canvas bag lying on the rocks not far away, out of reach of the spray from the miniature waterfall.  "You expect me to believe that."  It was a statement, not a question.

Sakura looked hurt.  If he had been in a more charitable mood, he would have acknowledged that she had every right to be upset at how he had spoken to her.  After all, he could have given her the benefit of the doubt.  However, Sasuke was not at that moment inclined to consider anyone's grievances other than his own.

"Well, fine then.  I just wanted a nice swim.  And I'm going to get it, too."  She dropped the towel and dove gracefully into the water, emerging into a lazy backstroke a few seconds later.

Sasuke gritted his teeth.  His sanctuary had been ruined.  He couldn't concentrate.  And for some bizarre reason, his mind wouldn't let go of Naruto.  Stalking towards his clothes, he grabbed Sakura's towel and used it to dry himself off.

Sakura, noticing this, kept her mouth shut, but she did move closer to the edge of the pool, watching.

Sasuke angrily dressed, pulling his clothing on as if it were something to be cowed.  Sakura winced at the sound of nearly-breaking thread; if Sasuke weren't more careful, he'd end up ripping his shirt and be in an even worse mood.

"Hey."  He spoke directly to Sakura, who jumped slightly.

"What?"  She scrambled out of the water, retrieving her now-damp towel and starting to use it to dry herself as best she could.

"Where's my forehead protector?"  He looked really irritated now.

"Your what?"

"My forehead protector.  What did you do with it?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed.  "You think I stole it?  What would I do that for?"

"How should I know? Just give it back."

Sakura pulled her towel around herself defensively.  He probably thought she'd taken it so she could keep something of his.  Ha.  She wasn't _that_ pathetic.  "I don't have it."

"Fine."  Between one second and the next, Sasuke was standing next to her bag, which contained her clothing.  "I'll just take it, then."

Sakura saw red.  Like hell he was going to go through her private possessions, no matter that it was simply clothing and nothing else.  "I don't think so."  She snatched the bag away, knowing that he had let her do it.  If he'd really wanted to keep it, he could have done so.

"Sakura, just give it back."  He almost sounded upset.  

_He's acting odd_, Sakura thought distantly, but she was angry now, too.  "I told you, I don't have it," she spat back, hugging the bag protectively.

Sasuke stared at her for a moment, mouth slightly open and looking vaguely nonplussed.  Then his features hardened.  "Find, then."  He stalked back towards Konoha.

Sakura's anger melted.  "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"Hn."  He kept walking, but he wasn't trying to lose her.  She took that as an encouraging sign and hurried after him. 

"Where are you going?"  She nearly tripped trying to wrap the towel properly around herself and still carry the canvas bag.  "Back to the village?"

Until she had asked the question, Sasuke hadn't really had a destination in mind.  He had simply started walking.  "Yes," he said shortly, trying to deter her.  He wasn't in the mood to try and escape Sakura; she'd only follow him if he tried.  He needed to make her go away of her own volition.  A brilliant thought struck him. "I'm going to visit Naruto," he announced.  There was no way she'd follow him there.  

"Oh!"  He could see Sakura's eyes get very round at the edge of his vision.  "How is he? Do you know?"

"No."  Not only would she not follow him there, but he would be able to prove to his doubting mind that it had absolutely nothing to worry about.

"Poor Naruto."  Sakura's tone had turned sympathetic.  They were nearly at the village gate, now.  "He must be feeling pretty awful."

Sasuke grunted noncommittally.  She wasn't going away.  Not good.  He changed directions suddenly, jogging towards the back of the village.

"Sasuke? Where are you going?" Sakura squeaked and stumbled as she tried to keep up.  

"Over the wall."  When he felt particularly antisocial, Sasuke avoided the gate as a route in and out of the village; instead, he climbed the wall at its most accessible point.  He'd been challenged at first, but after several months, most of the guards simply nodded and let him pass.

"Over the…" Sakura trailed off.  "I'm going to visit Naruto, too," she stated in a firm voice.

Sasuke cursed inwardly.  Now he'd been trapped into actually visiting Naruto, and to make matters worse, Sakura was coming with him.  He repressed a sigh.  At least Naruto would probably be unconscious and therefore less annoying than he usually was.

The wall wasn't easy to get over, but he'd done it so many times that it was almost second nature.  Sakura followed him doggedly, copying his movements.  He had to admit that she caught on fairly quickly.  In his present state of mind, it did not make him any less irritated with her.

Sasuke dropped onto the rooftops without seeing the guards at all.  Ridiculous.  _I could be using some kind of genjutsu to impersonate myself and they wouldn't even notice_.  He resolved to tell whoever was in charge of the guards as soon as he could shake Sakura. 

She followed him through the various alleys and back ways towards the hospital, even though he purposely chose the most obscure and circuitous rout possible.  "Where is everybody?" she asked after a few moments.

"Graduation," he replied shortly.  "They're probably at the graduation ceremony."

"But it's not time for –" 

"It's probably later than you think it is," he retorted automatically even though the streets did seem rather empty and he was fairly certain the ceremony wasn't due to start for at least another hour.

The hospital loomed in front of them, and rather than go in the front, Sasuke slipped in a side window.  Strolling nonchalantly forward, he accosted one of the nurses.  "Excuse me, where is Uzumaki Naruto?"

Flustered, the nurse took a few seconds to reply.  "Uh, room three-fourteen, I think.  Shall I take you th-"

Sasuke had already vanished, Sakura hurrying after him.  Neither of them saw the nurse shrug and continue on her way in a decided breach of hospital policy.  Visitors were always guided to the patients' rooms, and visits were generally supervised.

The door to Naruto's room stood slightly open, and sounds of scuffling could be heard coming from inside the room itself.  Sasuke silently approached the door and flung it open, kunai in hand to deal with the enemy.  

In a surprising display of reflex, Konohamaru caught the door before it could slam into the wall.  "Sshhhh!"  He motioned frantically towards the bed.

Naruto lay restlessly asleep; bright spots of color burned in his cheeks and he made small sounds of discomfort.  A slight pang shot through Sasuke at the sight.  Naruto wasn't supposed to be sick, no matter that he'd be well within a few days.  It still wasn't right.

"I lost his forehead protector!  The one Iruka-sensei gave him!  He's gonna kill me!" Konohamaru whispered.  "It was right there!" 

"Lost his forehead protector?"  Sakura paused in the act of pulling her dry clothing over her head.  "How?"

"He, was, um, sleeping with it, and I snuck out of the school to visit, only Iruka-sensei found me but he said I could stay for another half hour to visit Naruto-nii-chan and he put the forehead protector on the table right there but when I turned around it was gone!"

"Where's Iruka-sensei?"  Sakura asked.  "Maybe he just took it with him."

"He left.  I didn't see him after that, but if Naruto-nii-chan finds out I lost _that_ forehead protector, he's gonna kill me," Konohamaru all but wailed.

"Huh.  Sasuke lost his, too."  Sakura dug around in her bag, looking for her own.  She felt rather smugly amused, as she knew perfectly well that hers was in her bag where she had put it.  

It wasn't there.

"Huh?"  She turned the bag upside down, but the forehead protector was gone.  "What is this, some kind of joke?"

Her voice rose on the last syllable, and Naruto groaned, eyes blinking open.  "S-sakura-chan?  You came to visit me?"  He coughed painfully.  "O-owww…"

"Uh…" Sakura put her bag down and crossed the room.  Naruto was – sort of – her friend, after all.  "How do you feel, Naruto?"

He tried to smile.  "Fine!  Just fine!  I'll be outta here in-" Another spate of coughing overtook his frame, and he turned away slightly.  

Sakura smoothed the hair off his forehead.  "Yeah, yeah.  Go back to sleep.  I'm sorry I woke you."  

Naruto mumbled something incoherent, hands clenching and unclenching around the blankets.  Within moments, he had fallen back into broken sleep.

"Isn't that odd?"  Sasuke kept his voice low, but Sakura had no trouble hearing it.

"Isn't wha… Oh."  She picked up her bag and shook it one more time before stuffing the soaked towel and swimsuit in it.  "It has to be some sort of prank."

"Some prank," Sasuke muttered.  He looked out the window.  The street below was oddly empty, as if a large portion of the population hadn't bothered showing themselves.  Nothing seemed to be wrong, though, except for one person running frantically as if searching for something.  Sasuke narrowed his eyes.  It was Hinata, and she wasn't wearing her forehead protector either.

The events of the day crystallized, and Sasuke realized that aside from Sakura and Naruto, Hinata was the only other shinobi he'd seen.  "Wait here," he said to Sakura and Konohamaru, and leapt out of the window.

Hinata shrieked slightly as he landed in front of her, but then relief spread over her face.  "S-sasuke-kun!"  She was blushing, but not as badly as she had when she'd been in the academy.  "I thought… I thought…"

"Where is everyone?"  Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulders.  "Where are they?"

The relief vanished, replaced by apprehension. "You… you… you're the only…"

A feeling of dread washed over him.  Sasuke looked around, carefully.  "Come on.  And don't move like a ninja."

He led her through the front door of the hospital and up to Naruto's room.  Once they'd arrived, he nudged the door shut and leaned against it.  "Explain."

Hinata just stared at him, completely confused.  "Explain?"

"What happened to you this morning."

In broken sentences, punctuated  by stammers, blushes, and constant glances at Naruto, Hinata spoke.  

She had been getting ready for the graduation ceremony – a cousin and a younger sibling were both among the graduating class that year, so she was therefore required to attend – and it had taken her a bit longer than she expected to get ready.  In her hurry, she had knocked her forehead protector behind the desk in her room.  When, several minutes later, she had finally moved the desk aside to reach the forehead protector, it was gone.  Shortly after that, she'd noticed that she was nearly the only person in the entire Hyuuga compound; she couldn't find any of the members of her family, extended or otherwise.  She'd been running in the direction of the Academy when Sasuke had intercepted her.

"That's… really strange," Sakura said slowly after Hinata lapsed back into silence.  "You didn't see any other ninjas at all?"

Hinata shook her head slowly.

"Neither have we." Sasuke actually sounded a little worried.  "All the ninjas in the Hidden Leaf can't possibly have vanished."

Silence answered his statedment.  Sakura finally spoke up, uttering the words none of them really wanted to hear.  "What if they have?"

End Prologue


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One 

"What if they did vanish?" Sakura repeated.  "What if we're the only ones left?"  She looked around at the others.  "What are we going to do?"

Sasuke looked up from the floor to discover Hinata, Sakura, and Konohamaru all staring directly at him.  It was unsettling; he was no kind of leader, at least not yet, and he knew it.  "We…" He froze, not knowing what to say.  Field tactics were one thing.  This was something else entirely, and he was completely out of his depth.

"We… um, we have to see if… if there is anyone left," Hinata finally said, when it became obvious that no one else was going to speak, and Sakura and Konohamaru both looked at her in surprise.  "M-maybe one of the Jounin… or the Anbu are st-still here…"

Sasuke nodded.  She was right, of course.  Why hadn't he seen that?

"Of course."  Sakura struck her palm with her closed fist.

"We should, um, ask anyone if they, ah, if they've seen anything," Hinata put in.  "We can meet back here?"  She looked to Sasuke for confirmation.

"Uh, yeah.  Yes.  Everyone take one quadrant.  Hinata, take north.  I'll take east, Sakura to the south, and Konohamaru to the west.  Meet back here in two hours."  It was so much easier when a plan of action had already been outlined, but he still should have been the one to think of it.  Why had it been Hinata… in fact, why had she spoken up at all?  She was normally too shy to offer any kind of opinion, much less a dissenting one.

Sasuke opened the door and peered up and down the corridor.  It was clear.  "Okay, let's go.  Two hours.  And try not to move like a ninja."  It was difficult, to move like a civilian, and he suspected he wasn't doing a very good job at all.  However, no one paid attention to him as he moved towards his self-assigned quarter of the town and began to search for other shinobi.

_Hinata has been trained to lead the Hyuuga clan, whether she wants to or not_.  The thought seemed irrelevant at first, until he realized what had just run through his head.  _She's been trained.  As a leader.  This is what she's supposed to do, no matter how unsuited she might seem._  Sasuke shook his head slightly and put the thought away for later.  He had a mission to complete.

The north quarter of the town contained the Academy, which was the most likely place to find any ninja other than around the Hokage's office.  Sasuke walked as nonchalantly as he could towards the Academy, hoping to slip inside in the presumed company of someone else.  As he got closer, though, he noticed that the townsfolk were walking past the Academy as if it didn't even exist.  Normally, those walking past would wave to someone inside, or simply look at the building with a certain amount of possessive pride; it was _their_ Academy, after all, and it had produced some spectacular shinobi.  

Now, though, he could see their eyes slide past it as if it wasn't even there.  Quite a feat, considering the size of the building.  He gritted his teeth.  Nothing for it but to sneak inside, then, as casually as possible.  To his mild surprise, no one apprehended him as he walked into the building.  Rather, they looked at him exactly as they looked at the Academy, which was to say not at all.  Feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the weather, Sasuke all but ran through the halls.  

The building was completely empty. 

Not only was it empty, there was evidence of tasks abandoned midway through.  Cups of tea sat cooling on the table in one of the staffrooms, and in one of the workrooms a kunai sat on a table, the whetstone next to it still gleaming with fresh oil.  The classrooms held all of the signs of occupation by impatient excited children – notes, makeshift toys, paper airplanes – except the children themselves.  A chalkboard eraser stood wedged up at the top of one of the doors, waiting for a teacher who would never find it.

Sasuke turned the eraser over in his hands, staring at it.  Not only shinobi had vanished from the university; every living human was gone.  He knew for a fact that non-shinobi were regularly in and out of the Academy, but there was no sign of them either, and the various personal effects scattered around led him to believe that they had not walked away of their own volition.

Despite that assessment, no sign of a fight marred the rooms.  No kunai, no splintered wood, no broken furniture.  Several dozen Chuunin, a greater number of Genin, and an even greater number of students had been in this building not three hours previous.  How was it possible that they had all been spirited away with no spur of trouble?  Try as he might to scour the grounds, Sasuke could turn up absolutely nothing.  It was as if every person within the Academy had suddenly vanished into thin air.  But how was that possible?  Dust rained onto the floor, and he looked at his hands, surprised.  He had crushed the eraser in his fist.  Carefully, he laid it next to the blackboard and left the school.  It felt deserted already, as if it had been empty for years instead of hours.

Trying to shake the chill, Sasuke moved at a slow jog towards the town.  He had to see if the pattern held true, or if just the school had been so affected.  He had the feeling that the entire mystery hung on this one detail, and he wasn't about to let it get away from him.

* * *

Hinata walked slowly through the nearly empty streets.  She was trying to move as nonchalantly as possible, as if she belonged – which, technically, she did – and also as if she were a civilian.  It was difficult to consciously ignore her training, but not impossible.  After a few minutes, though, she noticed that it didn't seem to matter whether she drew attention to herself or not; no one took notice of her at all.  She stopped uncertainly in the middle of the street, looking around.  

The few pedestrians near her simply walked around her as if she were a rock or a signpost, giving no indication whatsoever that they had seen her.  She frowned, but when she kept walking, she still took care to move like a civilian.  It was possible that the village was under observation from a foreign source, and blowing their cover before they found out what was going on was probably a very bad idea. And yet…

Acting on an impulse, she stopped one of the townsfolk.  "Excuse me."

The man blinked as if he'd just noticed her.  "Yes? What is it?"

"Can you, um, can you direct me to the Hokage?"  She smiled and did her best to look innocent and cheerful.

"Ho…kage?" the man repeated slowly.  "No, we don't have one of those here."

"The fifth Hokage? Godaime?" Hinata pressed.  "I need to see her."

"You must be mistaken," said the man, and walked off.  Hinata could almost see him forgetting the conversation.  The problem seemed to be more serious than just the ninjas disappearing.  Not good news at all.

A few blocks later, she tried again.  "Excuse me."

It was a woman this time, one that Hinata recognized as the mother of four siblings currently enrolled in the Academy.  She stopped, looking distinctly displeased.

"Um, ma'am, can you tell me how to get to the Shinobi Academy?"  Even if someone failed to recognize the name "Hokage", everyone knew the Academy. 

"The what academy? There's no academy in this town."  The woman spoke in clipped tones, arms crossed over her chest.

Hinata could see the distinct silhouette of the Academy out of the corner of her eye.  The woman had to be looking straight at it.  "The Shinobi Academy.  Where ninjas are trained."

"Ninja?  What are you talking about?"  The woman uncrossed her arms and made as if to keep walking.  "Don't waste my time with nonsense."

Hinata looked over her shoulder at the Academy.  She could nearly feel her blood turning to ice.  How was it possible that the people of the village didn't know what a ninja was?  She turned to ask the woman one more question.  "What about your childr-"

The woman was gone, moving briskly down the street.  Hinata sighed.  The picture was getting bleaker by the minute.  She started jogging towards the complex holding the Hokage's office; hopefully she would be able to find something there.

* * *

Sakura made her way back towards the hospital, more nervous than she'd ever been in her life.  Not one ninja remained in Konoha apart from Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto.  The village was completely open, a perfect target for invasion.  And yet, no one had attacked.  The townsfolk – apart from not noticing that anything was wrong – were perfectly normal, with none of the fear or panic that would have made a spectacular weapon in the hands of whoever had taken the Leaf shinobi.  It just didn't make sense.

Trying to sort out the bizarre events, Sakura failed to pay attention to where she was going and found herself flat on her back in the middle of the street.  She jumped up and discovered that she had bounced off someone walking in the opposite direction.  

"I'm so sorry!"  She extended a hand to help the woman up, and recognized Ino's mother.  A glance upwards showed her that she was indeed directly in front of Ino's family's flowershop.  "Are you all right, Mrs. Yamanaka?"

"You should be more careful."  Mrs. Yamanaka stood up and brushed off the dust.  "Are you in a hurry?"

"Um, well, I just…"  She didn't recognize Sakura at all.  "I, uh, was actually looking for some flowers."

"Oh."  Mrs. Yamanaka smiled.  "Please, come in."  She opened the door of the shop and cheerfully waved Sakura inside.

The interior of the shop looked no different than it usually did.  Sakura walked through the rows, surreptitiously observing the room.  "Is your daughter working today?" she asked after noting that the portrait of the Yamanaka family – including Ino – still hung on the wall.

"Daughter?" Mrs. Yamanaka seemed confused.  "I don't have a daughter."

_This is bad._  "This isn't your daughter?"  Sakura pointed to the picture.  "She looks just like you."

"It… she…" Mrs. Yamanaka's eyes unfocused slightly, and Sakura backed away carefully.  She watched warily for any sign of attack.  Instead, Mrs. Yamanaka smiled brightly, focusing on Sakura as if she'd only just noticed her at that moment.  "Welcome!  Are you looking for flowers?"

Sakura shook her head.  "No, thanks."  She pushed the door open and left.  The townsfolk were _not_ normal.  It was as if something had occurred to cause them to forget about shinobi entirely, and it was scaring her.  Hypnotism was one thing, but the ability to alter a person's memory – to continuously alter it, if Mrs. Yamanaka's behavior was any indication – was highly disturbing.  Sakura broke into a jog, moving towards the hospital as quickly as she dared.

* * *

The office was empty when Hinata arrived.  The entire complex had proven deserted, but since civilians were generally not allowed inside – unless they had a request – Hinata had been expecting it.  Awaited or not, it was still eerie.  Hinata had slipped in through the half-open door and started methodically going through the rooms.

She had found petitions from various people around, and mission statements divided by rank.  The writing on several scrolls stopped mid-sentence or even mid-word, the pens lying carelessly on the tables and floors.  In one room, Hinata had righted an inkbottle that had apparently tipped over when a pen had been dropped into it.  That particular scroll was nearly obscured by the puddle of ink that had soaked into it and begun to drip slowly onto the floor.  She had glanced at it curiously; it was a request for investigation of some odd people who had reportedly shown up in the Wave country.  Even after picking up the paper, she couldn't make anything else out.  Without giving it another thought, she had laid the scroll back down and moved to the next room.

Godaime's office had proved to be no help at all; it appeared perfectly normal except for being empty.  The pictures of the previous Hokage hung on the wall, reflecting the afternoon light.  Hinata shook her head.  There was nothing here.

On her way out, though, she stopped and gathered all the A-rank scrolls as well as the intelligence reports scattered over Godaime's desk.  Maybe one of those would provide a hint as to the bizarre events of the day.

* * *

Naruto was still asleep – sort of – when Konohamaru snuck back into the hospital room, taking extra care not to be seen acting like a ninja.  This meant he spent several minutes crying loudly to the head nurse about how he wanted to see his big brother when he was caught moving through the halls.

It worked like a charm.  

Konohamaru was as good or better than any child his age at initiating guilt trips in the adults around him, and though he usually eschewed such methods of manipulation (a direct assault was, in his book, much to be preferred), he was not above them.  In short order, he had secured permission to stay with his brother until he felt better.  Leaving the nurse to puzzle out that bit of purposely vague wording, Konohamaru raced down the hallway.

The Genin had beaten him there; all three of them were waiting in various poses of simulated boredom.  Konohamaru figured that Hinata and Sakura were taking a leaf from Sasuke's book, and he thought it looked funny on them.  He wasn't going to say anything, though, because heir to the position of Hokage or no, he was no match for any of them and knew it.  "Have you been here long?" he asked instead.

"Nice diversion, Konohamaru-kun."  Sakura winked.

Sasuke gave her an irritated look.  "Anyway.  Let's get down to business.  What did you guys find out? Konohamaru, you start."

"There aren't any ninjas."  Konohamaru shrugged.  "And nobody recognized me either."  He looked around, knowing it wasn't much.

After a few moments, Sasuke prompted.  "And?"

"That's it.  The houses that the ninjas used to live in were empty, but not like they'd packed up.  It was as if they'd just left for a moment.  All of them.  It was kind of creepy."  Konohamaru shivered.

Sasuke nodded.  "That tallies with what I found.  There was no sign of a struggle, nothing.  Like they all decided to walk out at once and leave their work half-finished.  The entire Academy was empty."

"So, um, so was the… the Hokage's compound," Hinata said softly.  "But I, um, brought these."  She pulled several scrolls out of various pockets and laid them on the floor.  "They're, uh, intelligence reports, that were on the Hokage's…" her voice trailed off.  "Um, I thought… they might be useful…"

Sasuke nodded.  "We'll look them over.  Sakura?"

"A really really strange thing happened."  Sakura related the incident with Mrs. Yamanaka.  "It was as if something was rewriting her memory as she was talking to me."

"And… no one recognized…the, um, the name 'Hokage'."  Hinata spoke up again.  "Or the Academy, or… even the word 'ninja'."

"Wait."  Konohamaru cast an anxious glance at the door.  "So something made all the ninjas leave, and made the people in the village forget that they ever existed? And is still making them forget?"

Silence met his words.  Put out in the open like that, it sounded worse than it had before.  After a few minutes, Konohamaru cursed very quietly and looked away.  No one reprimanded him for it.

"This… isn't good, is it?"  Sakura glanced at the others.  "I don't think we can deal with this on our own."

"Um, we can't." Hinata shook her head.

"Maybe.  But we go through these documents first."  Sasuke was just as nervous as any of the others; he was just concealing it better, and dealing with it by trying to retain every bit of control he could.  It wasn't much, but he was internally grateful when no one raised objections.  "Everyone… Um."  He looked at Naruto.  "Konohamaru, take care of Naruto."

Naruto was, at that moment, quieter than he had been during most of the day, but Sasuke wasn't sure that Konohamaru should look at what were obviously highly classified documents.  The possible benefit of having as much information shared between all the members of the group was not outweighed by the risk of giving a child sensitive information.  He wasn't entirely certain of Konohamaru's ability to understand and relate the information, either, and for some reason he felt better knowing that someone was paying attention to Naruto.  He did know that he, Sakura, and Hinata weren't ideal candidates for dealing with classified data, but there was no one else.  

Konohamaru shot him a look that said he knew very well what Sasuke was doing, but would go along with it anyway.  

The scrolls were enough to make Sasuke's hair stand on end.  He had had no idea of the complexity of the relationships between the five shinobi villages; even between the Leaf and the Sand, traditional allies, the protocol and formalities were staggering.  The entire system was designed to provide a balance of power – which every child knew.  What he hadn't known was how precarious the infinitely complicated system was, and how close the brawl between Sand and Leaf had come to full-blown war.  As it was, neither village had completely recovered, which made the Leaf's relationship with the other three even more delicate.  The Leaf and the Sand had been forced into an uneasy truce while trying to present a once-again united front to the other – potentially hostile – villages.

Despite the trust which Godaime placed – was nearly forced to place – in the Sand Village, she still kept detailed information on all of their activity.  It was, after all, only prudent.  There were documents linking events which, had Sasuke not had it spelled out for him, would have seemed completely unconnected.  The web of intrigue spread over everything.

And Naruto wanted this?  Sasuke glanced back at the now peacefully sleeping boy.  If Naruto ever became Hokage, he'd have a hell of a mess to deal with, and Sasuke didn't envy him in the slightest.

He had no idea how long they spent bent over the scrolls, speaking in low voices back and forth about possibly promising events or coincidences.  Nothing they saw, though, gave even the slightest hint of the kind of power that it would have required to completely empty the Leaf of its shinobi.

"You guys," Sakura yawned widely, and Sasuke realized with a start that it was completely dark outside.  "I… I don't know if we _can_ go to anyone else after reading this.  It would be…"

"The ultimate expression of weakness," Hinata finished when Sakura trailed off uncertainly.  "If whoever did this doesn't attack the village, whoever we don't go to for help will."

Courtesy dictated that a request for help must be met in some capacity; as long as they approached a single village, that village was honor bound not to invade.  There would be no such restrictions placed on any of the other villages, though, and none of them would hesitate to turn on the vulnerable Fire Country and tear it apart.

"We can't let that happen," Sakura said, aghast.

"We… we could go to the Sand."  Hinata looked almost surprised at her own words, but the lack of immediate rebuttal from either Sasuke or Sakura seemed to give her courage.  "They… they're the only ones we can ask.  They have as much to lose as we do."

She was right.  Sasuke gritted his teeth.  As much as he hated the thought of asking the Village of Hidden Sand for help – curse Gaara – they had no choice.  If the Leaf failed, the Sand would be dragged down with it, and vice versa.  Together they provided a veneer of strength.  Apart, both were nothing more than targets.

The uneasy truce with the Sand was, then, their only hope.

Sasuke nodded.  "We'll leave first thing in the morning."

_tsuzuku_


	3. Chapter 2

Hi!  Sorry for taking so long to update; 's been a wacky couple of weeks.  Once again, thank you to all those who reviewed, and also all those who have been patient with me and are still with this.  ^.^  On with the fic!

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes slowly.  He felt terrible, and his thoughts refused to connect.  He groped next to the bed for the light, but it wasn't there.  Puzzled, he reached farther until he overbalanced and nearly fell.

Someone caught him.

Trained reflex took over, and just as his training dictated, he struck out against the intruder in his house.  He still didn't feel right, though, and he had no strength to back it up.

"Naruto!"  The voice was nothing more than a harsh whisper.  It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it… "It's all right."

He had it.  "Sasuke?"  His voice wasn't right either. He felt himself being lifted and placed back in the bed.  Which didn't feel like his bed.  And the window was in the wrong spot.

"Yeah."

Naruto waited for an explanation, but none seemed forthcoming.  "What are you doing here?" Following Sasuke's example, he kept his voice to a whisper.  That, and he didn't think he could raise it if he had to.

"You're sick.  Hospital.  Remember?"

Oh yeah.  But that still didn't explain why Sasuke was there in the middle of the night.  "Why are you here?" he asked again, trying to focus.

"I'm just leaving.  We'll be back in the morning."  Sasuke actually was walking towards the door.

"We?"  He was even more confused than he had been before.

"Go back to sleep, Dead-Last."

Naruto resolved to pound Sasuke into the ground as soon as he felt better.  As it was, he just managed a feeble "Shut up."

Sasuke smirked.  Naruto could see it in the dim light from the window.  Then he abruptly turned and vanished.  Naruto scowled.  He hated not knowing what was going on almost as much as he hated being sick.

* * *

Sasuke waited outside Naruto's door until he was sure the other boy had fallen asleep before going back inside.  He'd sent the other three back to his place to get some sleep, but he didn't want to leave Naruto by himself.  Despite the relative peace of the afternoon, he felt that it wasn't wise for anyone to be alone.  He wasn't happy about splitting the group up in the first place, but there was no choice.  They couldn't all sleep in Naruto's hospital room.

A thought occurred to Sasuke.  Naruto was in no shape to go trekking off to the Village of the Hidden Sands.  The group was going to be separated whether he liked it or not.   It was not a conclusion that made him happy.

The following morning brought Sakura, Hinata, and Konohamaru back to the hospital room.  As Sasuke had expected, they all arrived together and as quietly as it was reasonable to expect.  He had not expected that they would be followed by a rather irate member of the hospital staff.  He had also not expected to be asked – albeit politely – to leave Naruto in peace and to quit interfering with his recovery.

The conference regarding their course of action therefore took place on Sasuke's roof, out of reach of any eavesdroppers.  

"We'll go over the walls," Sasuke started.

"We can't just leave Naruto here!" Konohamaru interrupted.

"I know that," Sasuke said patiently.  "Konohamaru, Sakura, and myself will be leaving by the gate.  Hinata, you'll be staying here with Naruto.  If you don't hear from us within the next four days, you are to assume we have failed and take whatever course of action you see fit."

Konohamaru stuck his tongue out at Sasuke and muttered something that sounded vaguely like "pretentious bastard".  Sasuke eyed him, but Konohamaru just smiled sweetly.  Or what passed for "sweetly" with Konohamaru.  Kid probably didn't know what the word "pretentious" meant, anyway.

"As I was saying, we'll go over the walls," Sasuke continued.  "Everyone clear?"  The others nodded with varying degrees of reluctance.  Sasuke stood up.  "Good.  It's settled.  Let's go."  He nodded to Hinata, and started off over the roofs, moving slowly and silently.

It wasn't far to the edge of the village, but they were hampered by the need for absolute secrecy, and it took long enough to reach the walls that Sasuke's nerves were screaming by the time they finally did.  Once they did, he looked around.  "Ready?"  Both Sakura and Konohamaru nodded seriously.

Outside the village, it was quiet and peaceful.  The sounds made by the surrounding countryside were the epitome of a perfect day, at least at first.  The three children flattened themselves against the walls instinctively, using their hearing to evaluate the terrain.  

It was too quiet; not the tense quiet of fear, or the natural quiet of rest.  This was the near-silence that occurred only when the living things left in an area were limited to those too blind or too weak to abandon it.  Even so, there seemed to be no reason for the dissonance.  None of them were able to detect the presence of shinobi in the trees or anywhere else. 

"We can't take the roads," Sasuke whispered.  "This way."

Unlike Naruto, Sasuke knew the area outside the Leaf Village quite well; he had made it a point to familiarize himself with the terrain so as to prevent Itachi from having as many advantages as possible.  Even after his business with Itachi had been …concluded… he had felt it was only prudent to know his homeland as well as possible.  Sasuke was therefore well aware of the quickest and most secret routes out of Leaf territory.  He was also aware of the various traps that had been laid in the vicinity of the village and how to spot them.  None were lethal; instead, they were simply disabling.  Even so, they were a distraction that could not be afforded.  He felt confident in his ability to lead his team silently and efficiently to its destination.

Before half an hour had passed, Sasuke knew something was wrong.  The landmarks didn't match his memory.  He tried to rationalize the differences; it had been a while since he had gone this particular route, and it was entirely possible that some things had changed.  

"Sasuke?"  Sakura's whisper an hour later caught his attention. "We've been here before."

Sasuke stopped, frustrated.  She was right, of course.  The gouge in the tree off to his left had been placed there by Konohamaru not twenty minutes ago.

"We're moving in _circles_," Konohamaru put in.

"We're not moving in circles," Sasuke whispered back.  "We're making our trail more difficult to follow."  If they were going to reach the Sand, they couldn't give up and go back to the Leaf.  Sasuke closed his eyes briefly and settled his thoughts.  "This way."

He'd try a different route, then.  He thought he knew roughly where they were; if he was right, they were a half hour's walk south of the Leaf.  Swinging around to the west and then the north would take them back on track.  He checked the position of the sun as best he could through the canopy and struck out, trying to look confident and sure.

Konohamaru and Sakura exchanged glances behind Sasuke's back.  His "confident leader" pose hadn't fooled them in the slightest, but they didn't have many options.  Sakura glanced upwards as she had seen Sasuke do, checking the direction of the sun, and wondered why exactly Sasuke was heading southwest; it was the opposite of the direction in which they needed to go, and besides, it would take them far too close to the Leaf's walls again.

With feelings of misgiving, Sakura took a deep breath.  "Come on, Konohamaru.  Let's go."  She jogged towards Sasuke's retreating back.  Maybe he really did know what he was doing.  She could only hope.

* * *

Hinata stationed herself between the door and Naruto.  The window was as secure as she could make it, and she now stood guard over the room's only other point of entry.  She was currently occupying herself with a set of mental exercises; to all appearances, she simply sat lost in thought.  She'd finished the sixth of the set before Naruto distracted her.

"Ugh."  

Blinking, Hinata looked over at the bed.  "Are… um, are you all r-right?"

Naruto winced.  "Hot."

The room was actually rather cool.  "Um, you should… stay… here."  There was a nearly full glass of water on the small table next to the bed, and Hinata picked it up.  "Drink this."  With difficulty, she managed to help Naruto sit up.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked once she had put the glass back down.  "He was here.  I think."

"Um, he went with… Sakura… and Konohamaru…"

"No!"  Naruto looked genuinely distressed.  "He can't leave me."  His fists knotted, and Hinata tried somewhat tentatively to loosen his fingers from the blankets.

"It's, um, it's okay, Naruto…"

"He's _mine_," Naruto insisted.  His eyes were too bright, his pupils dilated.  Hinata would have been far more worried than she actually was had she not seen several of her cousins with this same flu not three weeks before.  As it was, she took it as a good sign.  Naruto interrupted her thoughts again with a nearly tearful insistence that Sasuke was _his_ and no one else could have him.  

"Of course, Naruto." Hinata finished untangling his fingers from the blankets and smoothed them out.  Naruto would be incoherent for a while, and then the fever would break and he'd be fine.  Given his recuperative abilities, he might even be on his feet the following day, and they could follow Sasuke and the others.

"My rival.  Mine."   Naruto peered up at her.  "Isn't he?"

"Yes, Naruto."  Hinata sighed.  As always, the one who took up most of Naruto's thoughts was Sasuke.  She wished he would notice her, but she was beginning to doubt that would ever happen.  If someone else made him happy, then that was enough for her.  She smoothed the hair off his forehead.  "Go back to sleep, Naruto."

* * *

 The sun stood almost directly overhead, and Konoha's walls were just barely visible through the trees.  Sasuke eyed them, looking irritated.

"You're lost," Konohamaru accused.

"I'm not lost," Sasuke shot back.  "I know exactly where we are."

"It's not where we want to be," Konohamaru replied just as quickly.  "We're _lost_."

"Um…" Sakura stepped between the two of them.  They hadn't gotten anywhere all morning; it was as if there was something moving the landscape around as they walked through it.  "Maybe if we move just in a straight line?"

Sasuke rounded on her.  "Fine.  North.  That way."  He pointed.

"That's northeast," Sakura broke in.  "North is that way."  She was certain Sasuke was off by several degrees.

"Look."  Sasuke pointed at the sun.  "See? East is there, and north is here."

"No, you're wrong.  You're probably confused because the sun is so high.  But east is definitely that way."  Once again, she corrected Sasuke's error.

"Have it your way."  Sasuke stalked off.  Sakura followed him, checking the position of the sun every few minutes.  

Before long, Sasuke started to veer off course.  "Um, Sasuke?"

"Now what?" He threw a glance over his shoulder.

"You're turning.  We have to go straight or we'll just end up in a circle again."  She pointed at the sun again, which had now started to sink.

"Look, I am _not_ going in a circle.  I'm going in a perfectly straight line.  Isn't this the direction _you_ said was north?"  He really was angry now.

"Well, it _was_, until you started going further east.  Again."  Sakura stopped walking and folded her arms.

"Um…" Konohamaru raised his hand.  "You're both wrong."

"Damn."  Sasuke walked over to the closest tree and leaned his forehead against it.  "Can either of you see a genjutsu?" he asked in a low voice.  Neither of them could, despite their best efforts.  Sasuke shook his head.  "I can't either, but it has to be there.  We should split up; if we cover different territory, maybe it will be more difficult for them to hold the jutsu."

"But doesn't that mean we've been discovered?" Sakura whispered.

"Yeah, then why hasn't anyone come after us?" Konohamaru added.

Sasuke shrugged.  "I don't know.  Split up.  If you absolutely can't make your way out, go back to Naruto and Hinata."

Sakura nodded.  Konohamaru readjusted the goggles he habitually wore across his forehead, and said, "Roger."

"Go."  Sasuke vanished into the undergrowth.  Konohamaru tossed a nervous grin at Sakura and did the same.  Sakura took a deep breath and started walking, careful to keep the sun on her left.

* * *

Konohamaru made his way silently through the brush.  He'd spent more time training in this forest than any other kid in his class at the Academy, and was therefore one of the best of his age at moving quietly in the forest.  He was also the best versed in survival skills.  Again, that was only in his age group, and he was painfully aware that he still had a lot to learn.

He had noticed what neither Sakura nor Sasuke had seen.  Genjutsu or not, their surroundings had slowly and subtly changed around them as they moved through the forest.  Even the sun itself had failed to remain a constant, although he hadn't been sure of that last until Sasuke's and Sakura's bickering had confirmed it.  Still, he thought he had the pattern worked out, and he knew how to get out of the area of confusion.

As talented as Konohamaru was, though, he was still only a student.  He had gone just far enough to gain a false sense of confidence in his method of movement and chance for escape when the woods around him exploded with bodies.  At least two dozen ninjas, dressed entirely in camouflaging greens and browns came out of what seemed like nowhere.  Konohamaru managed to dodge at first, but it didn't take long before his enemies' attacks began to find their targets.  His goal changed from "escape" to "leave as much sign of a struggle as possible and maybe take one of them with me".  Just as he made the resolution, the attacks stopped.  The ninjas surrounding him drew back, and Konohamaru dragged himself to his feet.  A thin trickle of something made its way slowly down his face; he brushed at it, his fingers coming away red.  His goggles had been fractured in the fight.  He pulled them off and tossed them aside, hoping that they might serve as some sort of sign for Sakura and Sasuke.

"What do you want?"  Now that he wasn't engaged in an immediate struggle, he could see his attackers clearly.  Not only were they dressed to completely blend into the background, they wore no identifying headbands.  _Missing-nins?_  They couldn't be, though; no group of missing-nins was this large, this well organized or equipped.  Even Konohamaru knew that much.  They had to be a strike force from another shinobi village.

No one spoke.  Konohamaru wiped at the blood dripping into his eyes again and repeated his question.  "What do you _want_?"

As if that had been some sort of cue, one of the ninjas nodded to the rest, and they rushed forward again.  This time, their intent seemed to be to capture with as little damage as possible. That made his job easier; he was under no such compunction.  Even so, it took only a few moments for Konohamaru to be subdued. He was bound and blindfolded and finally a paralyzing blow was delivered to the side of his neck, stopping his struggles.

Before his thoughts dematerialized completely, Konohamaru had the time to hope that Sasuke and Sakura were doing better than he was.

* * *

Sasuke leaned against the village wall, scowling at the ground.  No matter where he'd gone, he'd ended up back at the village each time.  He'd spent most of the afternoon on this fruitless attempt, and the last thing he wanted to do was admit to failure.  He gritted his teeth and pushed himself off the wall, only to meet an unexpected resistance and fall back again.

"Owwww…." Sakura moaned from the ground, rubbing her hip.  She looked up, obviously confused.  "Sasuke?"

He didn't dignify the question with an answer.

Sakura climbed to her feet.  "Weren't you going …" she waved a hand vaguely.  "Off that way or something?"

"I was," he replied shortly, and began to walk back towards the gate.  "Obviously I didn't get any farther than you did."  

Sakura fell into step beside him. "Have you seen Konohamaru, then?"

"No."  The way the forest was changing had to be the result of some sort of genjutsu, but if that were the case, he should have been able to see through it.  

"Oh, no."  Sakura ran forward suddenly.  "Look."  

Konohamaru's goggles lay on the ground, fractured and smeared with rusty brown.

* * *

Tsuzuku 


	4. Chapter 3

Notes: My most sincere apologies for the long wait and the brevity of the chapter.  Hopefully the quality will make up for the lack of quantity.  Or not.  I'll try to work on it more quickly. ^.^;  Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Three 

Hinata heard Sasuke and Sakura long before they actually entered the room, but she was so busy listening for Konohamaru as well that when the other two arrived, she was almost as startled as if she hadn't heard them coming at all.

"Konoha…" she started to ask.  Her voice trailed off as she saw the bloodstained goggles clutched in both of Sakura's hands.  "Is he…?"

Sakura shook her head.  "We don't know."

Sasuke slammed a fist into the wall and stared moodily out the window.  "We're leaving.  We can't stay here."

"But Naruto –" Hinata started again.

"He's coming with us."  Sasuke spun around and glared at all of them impartially.  "We're going now."

"But –" It was Sakura who interrupted this time.

"We don't know who these people are."  Sasuke leaned forward, biting off every word.  "We don't know where they come from.  We don't know what they want.  All I know is that we're the only ones left in Konoha who have any idea what's going on.  We can't afford to let ourselves get captured. We're leaving _now_."  

Hinata opened her mouth as if to protest, but at Sasuke's glare, she closed it again and turned to Naruto.  He was hooked up to machines registering his breathing and heartbeat; when he was disconnected, an alarm would be raised.  His clothes had been stacked neatly in Sakura's duffel bag; she picked it up and handed it to Sakura.  "Um, if you wouldn't…" Sakura nodded.  She took the bag and climbed out the window.  Sasuke motioned for Hinata to follow.

"Go to the Academy as quickly as you can without letting yourselves be seen.  We'll meet you there.  The password is 'defense, strategy, the eye of the dragon'."

Hinata glanced down at Sakura, who shrugged slightly.  Sasuke's passwords were his business, apparently.  She jumped out the window, landing near Sakura.  "A-academy."

It was far easier to move across town in the evening's half-light than it had been during the morning.  In what seemed like no time at all, they had arrived and slipped inside.  It seemed to Hinata that no attention had been attracted, but if the person watching them were a skilled ninja, how would she know?

The most easily defended rooms in the Academy were in the basement.  They were also the rooms easiest to keep bottled in.  Hinata shook her head.  They needed mobility, not defensibility.  She tugged on Sakura's sleeve and led her to a room on the upper-most floor.  It was a conference room with doors in two walls and broad windows overlooking the Academy grounds.  The windows had been covered with heavy black curtains the last time Hinata had seen the room, and she hoped those curtains were still there.

She was not disappointed.  A cursory check of the windows showed her that the traps built into them were still active.  "H-here," she whispered.

"We can't defend this place!" Sakura whispered back.  "It's too open!"

"We c-can't fight anyway," Hinata told her.  "Th-this way, we can r-run if they find us."

Sakura's eyes widened and she nodded.  "We'll wait here, then."

* * *

Sasuke shifted Naruto's weight and peered around the corner.  He couldn't hear anything moving, but he'd come to realize that meant nothing.  He couldn't see anything either, but his eyesight was as useless as his hearing.  Irritation combined with fatigue from the previous sleepless night, and he spent a few seconds cursing inwardly.  Hoping his luck held, he darted across the street through the gathering shadows.

He crept along the side of the building as inconspicuously as he could.  Considering that he was carrying an unconscious boy in a hospital gown, he wasn't particularly inconspicuous.  He could see the back of the Academy; one more rush stood between him and success.  Sasuke looked around carefully.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  He took a deep breath.

Naruto chose that exact moment to wake up.  "Huh?  Sasuke?"  Although his voice was much more quiet than it normally was, "quiet" for Naruto bordered on "loud" for everyone else.

Sasuke nearly dropped him.  "Shhhh!" he hissed as forcefully as he dared.  He had no hands free, or he would have clapped one over Naruto's mouth.  The last thing he needed was to deal with Naruto's idiocy in such a volatile environment.

Naruto's eyes widened, but he made no move.  "What's going on?" he asked in a stage whisper.  Sasuke fought the urge to groan.  Naruto probably thought he was being very quiet.

"Just… hang on, okay?"  If Naruto had been awake enough to walk on his own, this wouldn't have happened.  If he hadn't caught this incredibly ill timed flu, this wouldn't have happened.  Sasuke looked around again.  No one paid any attention to either of them. He ran towards the Academy, scrambling over the low wall and onto the grounds in a few seconds.  "Stay quiet."

Naruto nodded, head resting on Sasuke's shoulder.  Sasuke glanced downwards.  _He must really be drained._  He shifted Naruto's weight again, shoved the incessant worry for his teammate out of his mind, and thought about where Hinata and Sakura might have hidden.  Logic suggested the basement for its defensibility, but that didn't feel right.  There weren't enough of them to defend against any type of concentrated attack.  They should have gone for ease of escape, then.  Sasuke walked into the building and jogged up the stairs.

As he had predicted, Hinata and Sakura had hidden themselves in one of the conference rooms.  He announced his presence quietly, and pushed open the door.

* * *

The door had been left unrigged, but both Hinata and Sakura were obviously to deal with any intruder.  Sakura slipped her kunai back into its sheath with a nod to Hinata before going to help Sasuke with Naruto. "Password?"

"Defense.  Strategy.  The eye of the dragon," Sasuke returned with a straight face.  His mouth was set tightly, though, and Sakura was capable of interpreting the subtleties of Sasuke's nearly expressionless demeanor through long – sort of – experience.  Sasuke was annoyed at something.

Naruto, however, started laughing weakly, not nearly as observant as Sakura. "Who made that up?"  He yawned abruptly.

"Uh, over here, Sasuke."  Sakura tugged lightly on Naruto's jacket.  "We got supplies and other stuff, so we don't have to leave if we don't want to."  She was actually rather proud of the arrangement.  

Sasuke started to put Naruto down, but the blonde clung to him, eyes suddenly wide and glassy.  "Are you going to bury me?" he asked in a tiny voice.

Sasuke looked exasperated.  "No one is going to bury you.  Let go."

"But –" Sakura glanced at Hinata.  Hinata shrugged. 

"He'll be much better tomorrow, Sasuke."

Sasuke tried again to pry Naruto's grip loose.  "Let _go_, Dead-last."

Between the combined efforts of Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto was finally persuaded to let go of Sasuke and go back to sleep.  Sakura drew the blanket over him carefully.  

"Are you sure he's getting better?" she asked.

Hinata nodded.  "A lot of my cousins had this.  He really is almost through it."

The sound of the door closing startled both girls into looking over.  Sasuke was standing in front of it, scowling.  "Don't leave it open," he snapped.

"I-I was watching it," Hinata retorted.  "Nothing happened."

Sasuke blinked twice, and turned away, outwardly absorbed in setting some kind of complicated trap to thwart anyone who might open the door from the outside.

"He really is getting better?" Sakura repeated.  They needed everyone they could get to fight, and she… She admitted inwardly that she needed her friend to be all right.

Hinata nodded vigorously.  It took Sakura a moment to notice that it was much more difficult to see Hinata than it had been when they had first arrived. Suddenly wary that the absence of light could be due to some sort of genjutsu, she sprang to her feet, cursing herself for not noticing the gradual darkening of the room.  Hinata jumped up too, eyes wide and hands automatically forming the seal to perform the Byakkugan.  Sasuke too was now standing in a guard position, left hand hovering near his shuriken holder.  Sakura cautiously moved one of the curtains to the side, tensed to defend herself and Naruto against whoever might be outside.

The brilliant glow of the sunset's final moments washed through the room, blanketing it in faded crimson.  Sakura resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands and instead checked for anything that shouldn't be there.  Everything looked normal.

"What did you see?" Sasuke hissed, keeping his voice low.

"It, uh, got dark, and I thought it was a genjutsu," she said weakly, and let the curtain fall.

"Kkh," Sasuke spat derisively.  Within seconds, his attention was once again focused on the trap he was trying to set.

Grateful now that the room was dark enough to hide the blush burning her cheeks, Sakura turned back to Naruto.  It was startling, really, how quickly the light went.  She could barely see his outline now.

"You two should get some sleep," Sasuke said roughly.  "I'll keep watch for now."

"But we-" Hinata started.

"You can't do anything in the dark, and we're not turning any lights.  Got it?"  Sasuke spoke as if he would physically restrain either of them if they so much as considered any further protest.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, again glad of the dark. _What's up with him now?_ she wondered.  He was acting oddly, even for Sasuke.  "Come on, Hinata," she whispered. "We can sleep over here."  Still, she was fairly certain that it was indeed Sasuke, and even if she hadn't been sure, Hinata had been using her Byakkugan before Sasuke had given the correct password.  Sakura didn't think Sasuke had noticed the tiny nod Hinata had given her before she had put down her kunai.

"We'll get out of here tomorrow," Hinata whispered.  She sounded so sure of herself that Sakura believed her without question, and simply nodded in return.  If Hinata thought they would get out, was that certain, then there had to be something to it.  Sakura wrapped her arms around the other girl for warmth as they lay against the wall farthest from the windows, and fell asleep more quickly than she would have expected.

* * *

_tzuzuku…_


End file.
